The present invention generally relates to an opening/closing mechanism for a drawer member, and particularly, to an opening/closing mechanism which enables a multiple-level opening/closing operation of the drawer member.
The opening/closing mechanism according to the present invention may be applied to, for example, a drawer of a register provided at a cashier counter. Hereinafter, although the present invention will be explained using a drawer of a register, it is understood that the present invention is also applicable to various opening/closing members.
Recently, control of commodities using a register terminal such as a point-of-sale (POS) terminal has become widespread among many kinds of retail stores. A drawer unit which is used to accommodate money from customers is provided at the register terminal. In the drawer unit, a drawer member is provided and tray portions for putting the money (i.e., bills and coins) in order are provided in the drawer member. The drawer member (hereinafter also referred to as a drawer) of the drawer unit is usually closed (i.e., positioned in the drawer unit) and is opened when the money is taken out or put therein.
If the opening degree of the drawer (i.e., the distance of the front end of the drawer between the closed state and the opened state thereof) is made constant, it is not necessary for an operator to make any unnecessary movement to avoid the drawer, and hence workload of the operator may be reduced.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a perspective view of a conventional drawer unit. In FIG. 1, some portions of the drawer unit, which are hidden by the other portions, are indicated by the dotted lines. FIG. 2A is a diagram showing a top view of the drawer unit in which the drawer is closed. FIG. 2B is a diagram showing a top view of the drawer unit in which the drawer is opened. In FIGS. 2A and 2B, also, some portions of the drawer unit, which are hidden by the other portions, are indicated by the dotted lines.
As shown in the above figures, the drawer may be contained in a housing of the drawer unit and tray portions are provided in the drawer. A roller is provided at the right-hand side and the left-hand side, respectively, of the back of the drawer. Each of the rollers is rotatably supported by an end portion of an arm member. A spring is provided with the other end of the arm member so that the arm member is pulled by a force exerted by the spring.
A rail is provided inside of the housing at the right-hand side and the left-hand side. The afore-mentioned rollers, respectively, contact the rail by the force exerted by the corresponding spring. In the opening state of the drawer, as shown in FIG. 2B, the rollers of the right-hand side and the left-hand side are pushed against a respective concave portion formed in the housing, and hence the movement of the drawer is stopped. It is possible to further open the drawer shown in FIG. 2B by pulling the drawer by hand.
However, the conventional drawer unit has at least the following problems.
In the conventional drawer unit, since no marks indicating the opening degree of the drawer are provided, there is a danger that the opening drawer may contact an operator. Especially, some drawer units employ strong springs and when such drawer units are used, the operator may be hit or injured by the opening drawer which is strongly accelerated by the force of the springs.
Also, the opening degree of the drawer of the drawer unit shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is set to be constant and the opening degree cannot be changed easily. However, under some circumstances, a shop or a store that owns the drawer unit wishes to change freely the opening degree of the drawer depending on, for instance, the space available for the drawer unit.
Moreover, it is usual that the bills are stored in the back portions of the drawer. However, if the drawer is fully-opened, the bills in the drawer may be seen by a third party and a crime may be induced. Hence, it is desirable that the opening degree of the drawer to be small from a crime-prevention point of view.
On the other hand, if the opening degree of the drawer is too small, it is necessary to pull the drawer further, after movement of the drawer is once stopped, by using one's hands. Thus, a store or shop which deals with a large amount of money may wish to increase the opening degree of the drawer so that the handling of money may become easier.
As mentioned above, if the opening degree of the drawer is set to be constant, it is difficult to satisfy various requests from a variety of shops.